Day One – The Drive to JFK

For those of you who don’t live in New England, you might not be aware that the only two weather patterns we have experienced this summer are: oven and shower. In some cases we’ve gotten both. Oveny showers? Showery Ovens? That last one sounds vaguely like the worst stripper name in the world, so perhaps not.

The short version: it’s been hot and rainy. Today the warmth backed off, but the rain showed up in full force. My drive from Connecticut to JFK airport would have made an excellent scene from a Wolfgang Peterson film. The visibility became so poor that virtually all the vehicles were driving with their hazard lights on. At one point, the traffic came to a sudden halt, and for a moment I feared I hadn’t enough room to avoid the car in the lane before me. However, my mechanic just replaced all of my brake pads, shoes and calipers. He did such an excellent job on the upgrades it is likely the reason I am writing this on the plane, and not in the emergency room wondering how much the charge nurse reminds me of Katherine LaNasa.

When I use airport parking, I have a knack for finding a parking service with a 24 airport shuttle that shuts down every day for four hours. That four hour window is almost always aligned with my arrival or departure time. (I suppose “20 hour airport shuttle” hasn’t the same ring.) Happily, my luck has changed—the airport shuttle was running and I was dropped off with over two hours to spare.

As it turned out, I needed that time. By the time I checked my baggage and went through security, I had just enough time to get to the gate and board. So here I am, awaiting the plane to leave the gate and begin its taxi. Tomorrow I have a day planned in Paris.

Before I go, I noticed this little guy waiting to board his flight to Paris. It doesn’t look like his first one…